~ Legendary Master of the Appalachian Thumb Piano ~

Over 40 Relaxing Tracks ~ All on One "Thumbs Drive" ~ USB Flash Drive

July 18 is National Thumb Day

(Staunton, VA) July 18 is Thumb Day in the USA and the Staunton Media Lab is celebrating with a fistful of new recordings by thumb piano virtuoso, Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer. On Thumb Day, Staunton Media Lab issues a 4-CD set of original tunes by Dr. Pianeer on a single "thumbs drive" — a USB flash memory drive — for easy import into music systems. The collection, Dr. Pianeer's second, is called 2 Thumbs Up!

2 Thumbs Up! contains over 40 tracks of therapeutic thumb piano balanced over four CDs. The thumb piano is an African musical instrument that goes by many names, including mbira, kalimba and sanza. Dr. Pianeer says he plays "Appalachian thumb piano," with double keys, rattles and "mountain tunings" to generate a sound that is both authentic and mesmerizing.

2 Thumbs Up! showcases several exotic new thumb pianos. The CD, Thumbin' Round the Mountain features a student model, 8-note thumb piano made by Mountain Melodies in the Blue Ridge. Several of the tunes on this CD include duets with birds. The title track on the CD, New Friend, refers to a vintage Hugh Tracey kalimba that recently came into Dr. Pianeer's collection. The CD also introduces the Erin thumb piano from China. Birds are talking on this CD, too, on Bird Walk, Red Wings and Tango de Pato -- "The Duck Tango" -- named after water fowl heard in the background and the funny "duck" sound of a note Dr. Pianeer toys with.

The third CD, Sand Dance, introduces Dr. Pianeer's creation, the sandbox, a seed box attached to the thumb piano. Hear it played on Bird Seed, Island Breeze and Watauga. The fourth CD, More Karimba!, features a fiery, double-decker thumb piano made by Hugh Tracey in South Africa that has rattles attached. The CD includes Nashville, an extra-jangly, super-blingy barn burner played on "Sandbox Karimba" and recorded live in Nashville's Centennial Park.

Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer lives in the mountains of western Virginia and plays for donations at public events. Some of the locations heard on these recordings include Lewis Creek in Staunton, Virginia; Stockley Gardens in Norfolk, Virginia; Day Avenue in Roanoke, Virginia; Royal Oak, Michigan; New Orleans, Louisiana, and, of course, Nashville, Tennessee.

To order your copy of 2 Thumbs Up: Dr. Cornelius Pianeer Plays Thumb Piano, send check or money order for $29 plus $3 shipping to Staunton Media Lab, 644 Greenville Ave. Suite 234, Staunton, VA 24401. CDs are $15 each plus $3 per order for shipping. Track lists are available at StauntonMediaLab.com. Sample tracks are available at the website and at Soundcloud. For more information, contact Steve O'Keefe at 540-324-7023. Thank you!

What's On Your 2 THUMBS UP! Thumbs Drive?

4 CDs — More Than 40 Tracks — All Original Thumb Piano Music

by Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer

Disk 1: More Karimba! Dr. Cornelius Pianeer Plays Karimba Thumb Piano

You asked for it, he played it! Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer's second all-Karimba recording features the fiery Hugh Tracey Karimba from South Africa, a thumb piano with rattles attached. On this recording, Dr. Pianeer introduces an exciting new sound, the Sandbox Karimba, on the super-jangly, extra-blingy barn-burner, Nashville.

On this delightful recording, Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer plays the simplest of thumb pianos, including the 8-note Mountain Melodies Kalimba. Made in the Blue Ridge Mountains, this sweet thumb piano is ideal for students, beginners, or as a memorable gift for a child. Also included are the 8-note Hugh Tracey "Shield" kalimba and a rustic 8-note home-made thumb piano on Suzie.

The "sandbox" is a gadget Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer straps onto his thumb pianos to make 'em shake. It's a small box of "seeds and such" attached to the back of the kalimba that adds depth and rhythm to the dancing ditties debuted here.

Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer says there are few things as wonderful in life as welcoming a new thumb piano into the family. "New Friend" refers to a vintage hollow-body treble Kalimba made by Hugh Tracey in South Africa some 50 years ago. Other new friends on this recording are "Blue Steel," a vintage Hugh Tracey treble Kalimba in a different key, and the Irin hollow-body treble Kalimba, Dr. Pianeer's first thumb piano from China.

To order your copy of 2 Thumbs Up: Dr. Cornelius Pianeer Plays Thumb Piano, send check or money order for $29 plus $3 shipping to Staunton Media Lab, 644 Greenville Ave. Suite 234, Staunton, VA 24401. CDs are $15 each plus $3 per order for shipping. Track lists are available at StauntonMediaLab.com. Sample tracks are available at the website and at Soundcloud. For more information, contact Steve O'Keefe at 540-324-7023. Thank you!

Enjoy the Soothing Sounds of Kalimba, Karimba, Sansula,Tamboola and More!

(Staunton, VA — January 18, 2018) Today the Staunton Media Lab released a much-anticipated series of recordings by the legendary master of the Appalachian thumb piano, Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer. The four CDs contain over 200 minutes of music from 33 field recordings and studio recordings on a single USB Flash Drive (or "Thumbs Drive") which the Staunton Media Lab retails for $29.

Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer is an Appalachian American who lives in the mountains of Virginia near Lake Moomaw. A virtuoso of the African thumb piano, Dr. Pianeer says he plays "Appalachian style," with double keys, rattles and "mountain tunings" to generate a sound that is both authentic and mesmerizing.

Dr. Pianeer busks at public events around the Eastern U.S. but prefers to play in remote locations where he can dialogue with insects and birds. You'll hear these amazing duets on tunes such as Ambient Appalachian Trail, Cicada Song and Ambient Audioscape with Sansula and Birds.

The Sansula is a Dutch thumb piano used in music therapy throughout Europe. It is particularly useful for teaching music to deaf students who feel the vibrations of the keys and can readily play and compose. It's also an easy starter instrument for children.

Dr. Pianeer, a retired teacher, says he uses his thumb piano in the service of healing. "When folks hear the thumb piano," he says, "it quiets 'em down so they can lose their worries in the rhythm of the keys." Dr. Pianeer plays several thumb pianos of his own design, including the Tamboola and the hypnotic Sandman Thumb Piano.

Dr. Pianeer never made any recordings until he ran into audio engineer Coley Evans at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind. All 33 recordings on the Thumbs Drive were made in the past two years and engineered at the Staunton Media Lab. Some are studio pristine and others were recorded by Dr. Pianeer in the field with a phone. Audio engineer Coley Evans cleaned them up as much as possible.

Dr. Cornelius Pianeer hopes to get a professional recording contract for his next Thumbs Drive. He is represented by the Staunton Media Lab. For more information, contact Steve O'Keefe, email steve dot okeefe at StauntonMediaLab dot com or phone 540-324-7023.

What's On the Thumbs Drive?

Disk 1: Dr. Cornelius PianeerPlays the Karimba

The legendary master of the thumb piano, Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer plays a Karimba on this CD of ambient world music. The Karimba is manufactured by the Hugh Tracey company in South Africa. It is similar to a Kalimba thumb piano, except it has metallic rattles attached to the keys.

The master of the thumb piano, Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer, plays the Kalimba and the Sansula on this CD of ambient world music. The Kalimba thumb piano is manufactured by the Hugh Tracey company in South Africa. The Sansula thumb piano is manufactured by the Dutch company Hokema.

Take a stroll with legendary kalimba master Thumbs Pianeer through America's parks and public spaces. On this CD, Dr. Pianeer captures the sounds of Morningside Park in New York City, Anderson Park in Montclair, New Jersey, and other ambient locations. On these recordings, Thumbs plays 8-note kalimba, a 17-note treble celeste kalimba, and the fiery two-tiered karimba.

Legendary thumb pianist Dr. Cornelius Pianeer has been known to make or modify thumb pianos to get exciting new sounds. On this recording, Dr. Pianeer experiments with the Sandman Thumb Piano he invented (it uses a "sandbox" rattle), a homemade Tamboola (a combo tambourine/sansula), a couple vintage thumb pianos, and the amazing karimba.

A Book Review by Steve O'KeefeExecutive Director of the Staunton Media Lab

Out of the Dark: Essays, Letters, and Addresses on Physical and Social Visionby Helen KellerKessinger Publishing Rare ReprintsISBN 1437234704, 282 pages, hardcoverOriginally published in 1920 by Doubleday, Page & CompanyPicture of Helen Keller in 1920 courtesy Wikimedia Commons

If you only know Helen Keller as the deaf blind girl who learns language at the water pump, you don't know Helen Keller. That willful little girl grew up into a willful woman suffragette who spoke with her hands loudly enough to be heard around the world. This book reveals the hidden side of Helen Keller which has nearly been erased from history.

The Miracle Worker is the name of a book, a play and movie about the young Helen Keller. The miracle worker of the title is not Helen Keller but her teacher, Anne Sullivan, who taught Keller to finger spell and sign, and to write and read Braille. Sullivan was herself blind for a number of years but regained her sight. The Miracle Worker doesn't tell what happened after Helen Keller learned to read.

The Wikipedia version of the Helen Keller story is that she went on to graduate from college, became an advocate for the blind and eventually a much-loved worldwide ambassador for the disabled. The hidden story is quite a bit different.

I had heard that Helen Keller had become a radical Socialist firebrand who was a thorn in the side of several U.S. Presidents. I had heard that she wrote books later in life that were banned and are now unavailable. I searched online and only found hints about Helen Keller's Socialist writings. One day, passing through Alabama for the 45th time, I decided to visit the Helen Keller Home at Ivy Green -- including the famous water pump where she learned to talk using the tingling of her palms -- and to find out more about these forbidden texts.

I should have known it was a fool's errand. Tuscumbia, Alabama, is not the place one would expect to find works by the beloved matriarch of the disabled on the subjects of economics, politics and the labor struggle. Let me make this shockingly clear: The Helen Keller Home does not display any of the books Helen Keller wrote herself, except for The Story of My Life, which was co-written by Keller and Anne Sullivan while Keller was in college. The only books in the Helen Keller Home gift shop and book store are by other people, such as The Miracle Worker, and books about her interpreters, Anne Sullivan (until 1936) and Polly Thompson (until 1960). Keller died in 1968 at the age of 88, outliving both her beloved companions.

(Staunton, VA — September 1, 2017) On Friday, September 1, the Staunton Media Lab will debut a breakthrough in assistive technology — the ARMi Assistive Technology Arm — putting advanced technology within reach of the disabled.

The ARMi (short for "Advanced Recreational Media Interface") is a portable, mechanical arm that allows for "hands-free" use of smartphones, tablet computers, remote controls, and other useful devices. The ARMi Assistive Technology Arm also holds many devices useful for disabled or mobility-challenged persons, including a mirror, a magnifying glass and a magnetic plate.

The ARMi was developed as an inexpensive document reader for the blind. Document readers for the blind can cost several thousand dollars — too expensive for many who need them. However, smartphones that cost less than $100 can read documents to the blind — if the person has help holding the phone. The ARMi Assistive Technology Arm provides those helping hands. With the ARMi and a smart phone, blind persons can easily position the phone and have books and documents read out loud by the phone.

The ARMi begins selling on Amazon October 1 for only $99. However, during the month of September, the ARMi is available for only $69 through Kickstarter. Supplies are limited to 1,000 units.